Manchester United return to Old Trafford today for the first time under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s management against Huddersfield Town with a new-found swagger after scoring five goals in the Premier League for the first time in five years.
The Norwegian’s caretaker spell in charge until the end of the season got off to a dream start as United threw off the shackles, which had led to turgid soccer and deteriorating results under Jose Mourinho, to thrash Cardiff City 5-1.
United still face a huge challenge to make up an eight-point gap just to qualify for next season’s Champions League via a top-four finish.
Photo: Reuters
However, for now the luxury of just being able to enjoy watching a side play with freedom and the attacking principles that have underpinned the club’s history is enough to excite United fans again.
“I think the boys are looking forward to playing at Old Trafford and that’s important. We should be looking forward to that, they are the best fans in the world,” said Solskjaer when asked whether some of the current United squad have been inhibited by the pressures of playing at home in the famous red shirt.
Solskjaer is certainly a favorite of the United faithful having scored 126 goals in 11 seasons as a player, including the one that famously won the Champions League final in 1999.
He was serenaded throughout by the visiting fans in the Welsh capital over the weekend as United hit five for the first time since Alex Ferguson’s final game in charge.
“I just hope in the next five months, I do a good enough job for them to keep singing my name when someone else comes in,” added Solskjaer, whose positivity has immediately lifted a squad downtrodden by Mourinho’s mood swings.
“Just to be positive. Take risks,” said Jesse Lingard, who scored twice in Cardiff, on what Solskjaer’s message has been.
“If you lose the ball, win it back — and play the United way: attacking football, entertaining football. For us as players, we enjoyed it today,” he added.
Rarely has enjoyment ever been at the top of Mourinho’s list of priorities, even in his most successful spells with Porto, Chelsea and Inter.
However, the commitment that he demanded from those sides was not evident in the United squad.
For the first time this season, United outran their opponents against Cardiff.
“A Man United team should never ever be outworked,” Solskjaer said.
“Doesn’t matter which team you play,” he added. “You should run more than them and then your skills will give you the chance to win the game.”
A good work ethic should be the minimum required of a United team, but Mourinho’s tactics also did not help his side’s running statistics.
Too often the Red Devils were set up to sit deep and try and counterattack.
Solskjaer instead seems intent on implementing the United way that he learned at the heel of Ferguson for so long.
“I said the same to these lads as I do back in Molde: Work harder than them, enjoy yourselves, pass it forward, run forward. If you lose it, I don’t mind as long as you work to win it back and they did,” he said.
“When you’ve got players like this with the quality, you are always going to create chances,” Solskjaer added.
The best Christmas present for many United fans might be the gift of being able to look forward to games with a sense of anticipation again.
Japan’s Shohei Ohtani is the record-breaking baseball “superhuman” following in the footsteps of the legendary Babe Ruth who has also earned comparisons to US sporting greats Michael Jordan and Tom Brady. Not since Ruth a century ago has there been a baseball player capable of both pitching and hitting at the top level. The 30-year-old’s performances with the Los Angeles Dodgers have consolidated his position as a baseball legend in the making, and a national icon in his native Japan. He continues to find new ways to amaze, this year becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases
More than 180 years of horse racing came to an end in Singapore on Saturday, as the Singapore Turf Club hosted its final race day before its track is handed back to the Singaporean government to provide land for new homes. Under an overcast sky, the air-conditioned VIP boxes were full of enthusiasts, socialites and expats, while the grounds and betting halls below hosted mostly older-generation punters. The sun broke through for the last race, the last-ever Grand Singapore Gold Cup. The winner, South African jockey Muzi Yeni, echoed a feeling of loss shared by many on the day. “I’d
Zhang Shuai yesterday said that she nearly quit after losing 24 matches in a row — now the world No. 595 is into the quarter-finals of her home China Open. The 35-year-old is to face Spain’s Paula Badosa as the lowest-ranked player to reach this stage in the history of the tournament after Badosa reeled off 11 of the last 12 games in a 6-4, 6-0 victory over US Open finalist Jessica Pegula. Zhang went into Beijing on a barren run lasting more than 600 days and her string of singles defeats was the second-longest on the WTA Tour Open era, which
Francesco Bagnaia yesterday profited from a mistake by rookie Pedro Acosta to win the Japan MotoGP sprint and close the gap on overall championship leader, Jorge Martin. Spaniard Acosta crashed with four laps to go while leading the field at Motegi, allowing defending world champion Bagnaia to take first ahead of Enea Bastianini and Marc Marquez. Spain’s Martin finished fourth and saw his overall lead over Italian Bagnaia in the championship standings cut to 15 points. “I am very happy because with these conditions, it’s not very easy to win and gain points,” Bagnaia said after a sprint race that took place under
RSS